UNCONFIRMED reports are that a group of Venezuelan women who were rescued after a boat caught afire off the Waini Coast in the North West District on Sunday may have been trafficked into Guyana by persons on the Essequibo Coast.

Sources at the Kumaka waterfront at Mabaruma told the Guyana Chronicle on Monday that no sooner were the passengers rescued by the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard and public spirited persons in the area than three Guyanese men believed to be from the Pomeroon, were heard desperately making inquiries about the women’s whereabouts.

The 10 Venezuelan women and three Guyanese women who were on the vessel when tragedy struck, were reportedly on their way to seek medical attention at the time at the Mabaruma Hospital.

The Guyanese women reportedly told persons at Mabaruma that the Venezuelan women related to them that they were coming to Guyana to meet a friend, while others in the group related that they were going to be collected by persons at Charity.

A source at Charity told the Guyana Chronicle that the Venezuelan women are oftentimes exploited and their passports taken away by persons who collect them at the port. On Sunday, another Guyanese woman, 73-year-old Phylis Archer and her husband, Carlos Archer, were on board the vessel when tragedy struck. The elderly woman was air-dashed to the city for treatment late on Sunday while her husband, who was blind, is feared dead. The body of another man, Antonio Wells, washed up on the Shell Beach late on Sunday. The remaining male passengers were rescued but did not show up for medical attention at Mabaruma.

On Sunday morning, the Venezuelan passenger boat was reportedly heading to Charity with 22 persons on board when it caught fire and exploded off the Waini Coast around 0730hrs. Reports are that the boat departed the Bolivarian Republic around 04:30hrs on Sunday and was on the final leg of the trip, which started the day before at Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela.

Archer told the Guyana Chronicle from Mabaruma that after the fire started, the rough waters prevented her from grabbing her husband. “We were going down and I tried to hold on to him,” she said. Archer, who lived in Venezuela some eight years, said after the boat caught fire, the engines exploded and she held on to the sinking vessel.

She said she saw others trying to swim to shore which was a far distance from where the incident occurred. The elderly woman said she had already given up when she heard shouting and was taken into a rescue boat. She said she suffered severe burns about her body, including her hands, feet, torso and face. She was reportedly rescued by personnel working for the Protected Areas Commission who were stationed at Shell Beach. The Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard also raced to the scene.

The boats are said to regularly make the trip between Guyana and Venezuela, and on most occasions, boat-loads of Venezuelans and persons of Guyanese heritage make the trip here. Each passenger pays a sum of US$200 for a one-way ticket to make the journey. The weekly trips have become a frequent occurrence ever since the economic woes in the Venezuela took a toll on that country’s population.